Rider captain embraces entire tennis experience

Rider senior Leah Schrass hits a groundstroke against Abilene Cooper. Schrass was named team captain her senior year and has also come through with some key victories. She just loves being there to experience it all with her team.(Photo: Courtesy/Alexandra McClung)

Leah Schrass didn’t set out to be captain of the tennis team. And she knows Wimbledon, at least as a participant, isn’t her destiny, either.

Finishing near the top in the Class of 2018 rankings at Rider is her reality. So real that when tennis coach Kyle Apperson first heard about Schrass wanting to be in his tennis class, he was dead set against it. He’s an educator first and didn’t want to be part of anything hurting one of his own’s chances at valedictorian or other academic honors.

So last year Schrass wasn’t a part of tennis class. This year she gave the coach no choice in the matter. Her mind was made up. And she’s happy with her decisions regardless of how the season turns out. The Raiders finished second in District 5-5A, but won a bi-district title Monday and will play for an area championship Friday.

“Last semester I wasn’t in the tennis class and I really missed the camaraderie of the team and hearing people’s stories from the day," Schrass said. "Hearing who had a really amazing day because they did amazing on some test, and who had a really bad day or a bad test. I miss the locker room talk. I was only here for the tennis part last semester and I miss the connections you have with a team.”

She couldn’t be prouder of her team. Unlike recent Rider teams, losing to Old High wasn’t great fun. But the important thing was experiencing it with her teammates who “are really important to me. I like them, I really do.”

There have also been good wins, including a clincher Schrass had against Denton Ryan and a win over Grapevine.

Schrass obviously has a good head on her shoulders. Her excellent grades are no secret, either, which leads to classmates wanting some expert help.

“My peers do ask me for help and I try to be as clear in my explanations as I can without giving them the answers so they can still learn and know it themselves,” Schrass said.

Schrass is very positive about her Rider Raider experience but also very realistic about her tennis team. She wants everyone to know her team was just as driven as any other. They took pride in what they represented. She has captured what winning is all about.

“Even though the Rider team has been very good in the past... you see the banners and teams that have gone to state,” she said. “And this year we’re not that good, but it’s amazing to me from my freshman year when we were really good to now when we’re less good but there’s still that same spirit and exciting about winning. And sadness about losing of course, but there’s still that same Rider Raider spirit. It hasn’t changed even though we’re at a lower skill level now.”

Schrass plays No. 3 singles. She looks across and admires a teammate like Chris Selsor who “was pretty low on the ladder and now he’s our No. 1 boy because he worked so hard. You can see it in kids who stay after school and hit.”

Schrass’s favorite class is physics with Mr. Garth Baskin. She said teachers and coaches, especially Apperson, made it easy to embrace being a Rider Raider.

“It’s pretty easy to get involved because you have teachers involved,” Schrass said. “Coach App is very involved in everything at school. He kind of inspires you to embrace it. It’s fun to be in high school with other people like you. I really like being a Rider Raider; everyone gets so excited at football games, tennis matches and volleyball games.”

So what did tennis teach her that her advanced classes might not have?

“Tennis is more of a mental sport; you have to fight and you can’t just go through the motions,” Schrass said. “Your own strength and belief in yourself is important.”

And just like the team tennis players around the area, she loves being on that fence cheering her team on.

“One of the amazing things about team tennis is your teammates are out there and they’re allowed to cheer and your coach is allowed to come out and help you,” Schrass said. “It’s such a relief in that I’m not just fighting on my own.”

Wichita Falls has been blessed with a great many tennis stars in the community who have continued to put or keep the town on the tennis map. The greatest win of those programs is giving winners like Schrass and countless others a chance to mature into leaders of the future.

She’s not sure exactly where that college quest will be, Texas A&M may have a leg up, but some school out there is about to get themselves a champion from Wichita Falls.